Google releases Crisis Response maps feature and Public Alerts at the height of Hurricane Sandy

By Gene Ryan Briones on 10/30/2012

In an attempt to help our fellow beloved citizens in the U.S., particularly in the East Coast, Google has released a new crisis response map at the height of Hurricane Sandy to track the Frankenstorm’s progress. The map, which can be viewed here, will also show other vital information such as location tracking, public alerts, radar and cloud imagery, evacuation information, shelters and recovery centers, and storm footages via YouTube. Google even released a specific map for New York that features information from NYC Open Data, open shelters, weather information and live webcams.

Additionally, Google is launching a new service called Public Alerts which is now available on Google Search & Maps in your browser, on Google Maps for Android, and also on Google Now for Android devices running Jellybean. Google says that the new service will provide warnings for natural disasters and emergency situations. “If you are searching for superstorm Sandy, you’ll see content at the top of the Search page specific to this crisis. For other searches, you’ll see public alerts where and when they are live,” said Nigel Snoad, Product Manager of the Google Crisis Response Team. To learn more about Public Alerts, you can visit the official page.